Ok, where to begin? LOL.......this "Craftsman Professional series" PYT9000 i've had since 2009 when we bought it brand new. Last summer, the left spindle (has 3, 50" cut) seized and sheared off some of it's housing (still bolted to deck but blade flopping). I get three new spindles this week and go at it this morning replacing them. It's been since last year since it ran so i drained the gas and blew out tank and line, took off and cleaned air filter (it, and oil had just been replaced 2 cuts before spindle failed last year) for good measure, of course checked all fluids. Put about 2 cups of fuel in tank, in case it didn't start, or didn't run right i wouldn't waste/taint much fuel. It bumped, then it bumped, then it fired RIGHT UP and ran strong for about 10 seconds til it burned up that fuel and cut off. I thought WOOHOOO!!! i'm ready to rock! but no, there you go thinking Dave...........lol. I put gas in it, climb back on the seat and turn the ignition and i have NOTHING!!!!! no lights, oil light, hour meter, NOTHING!!!! Checked battery and it's sitting at about 13.4 not running so i know it's good. Did the ignition switch burn up (given i don't even have dummy lights or headlights)????? This ol redneck is about to start throwing things.....LOL. I wouldn't even BE tooling with this Craftsman if the Scag i got taken for........would work properly. So now i've got TWO dead mowers and some tall grass waiting for i guess some goats i'll go get this friggin' week....... Any help would be much appreciated. I am mechanically inclined but honestly i'm not sure of pin config on that ignition switch to know which wires should have juice with switch on/off, etc without the proper wiring diagram for that motor/electrical system.
Yeah that's what i was thinking too but i won't lie i'm a little baffled by it. How it started and ran fine til i got up, put gas in and sat back down then NOTHING at ALL. I cleaned battery terminals too, i forgot to mention that so i know at THAT end they are conducting well. I will try to trace where the negative goes to the frame and check that and the negative cable along the way for tears/breaks. The fact i get NOTHING though to ignition switch makes me wonder if that didn't burn up. I mean normally like an automobile when you turn to accessory position before it actually turns over, you get the oil light, hour meter light, headlights, etc and i have NOTHING now.
your fuse is blown
Find the starting solenoid.
On the battery cable side will e a single small wire .
That wire goes to the BATTERY terminal on the ignition switch , funny enough marked with the letter "B".
There is a fuse on that wire.
If it blows you have no power to the mower so nothing works apart from the PTO clutch if it is on it's own fuse.
I'll have to wait til morning to get "good" pics but i'm pretty certain there ISN"T a fuse..... the manual says it's "under the hood, at top of dash panel on the support bar"..........nope, it's not. Other forums/and some here in another thread said it could be back in the battery box area under seat.....nope, it's not. The positive cable comes off the battery and goes to some type of module on the inside of the back of frame. Coincidentally, the ground cable goes from battery and grounds against frame on one of the two bolts that hold that "module" to the frame. I followed every bit of harness from there forward, into the engine compartment and up under the dash panel..........i cannot find a fuse ANYWHERE!!! There is a relay, under the dash panel though. it got way too dark with the flashlight batteries draining and i laid the top of my hand open pulling back from inside that frame opening under the battery box so i'm gonna stop for tonight before sasquatch treeknocks this craftsman so hard it lands 3 counties over........lol
Well the electricity to power that relay has to come from somewhere.
So there has to be a + wire feeding into the loom and that wire has a fuse on it otherwise if you get a short the mower burns.
Some sort of a module ?
most likely the starting solenoid.
Ok so starting from battery terminals, pics follow into frame/chassis to solenoid. Red wire leaves solenoid and rejoins main harness. Travels frame under left foot rest and splits below fuel tank and feeds display panel, ignition switch and PTO knob. Other split goes to voltage regulator and headlights. Where is this fuse? "Craft1" pic shows that solenoid and at left you see where negative lead grounds to it and frame. "Craft 7" pic shows that relay under the dash panel i spoke of. I cannot find a fuse anywhere which is totally odd. In "Craft1" or "Craft2" pic, the thing the little red wire comes out of (not Craft3 which shows the red wire's white connectors), that looks like a similar relay as under the dash?
UPDATE*** ok, so the "2nd relay" (that i said looked like the one under dash panel) back at the solenoid at back of frame? Yeah, that's an inline fuse. They had so much black tape on it from the factory it looked like a square black relay like the one under dash panel. I peeled tape back and could see the top of the 20A fuse. Continuity tested it in holder and it failed so i pulled it and ohm'd it and it's for sure blown. Thanks for all the help. Sorry i'm such a hardhead, but it DIDN"T look like a fuse and it for SURE, isn't where Craftsman's manual says it is, lol. Heading out to reattach battery and see if i'm good to go now.
LOL........yeah, started right up, ran strong, engaged blades, went up my hill (will say drive belt smoked a little initially as it climbed but then seemed fine). Got a pass up the hill, a pass down the hill, went back up the hill, mowed around HVAC and another obstacle and then blades shut off............ Tried to engage them again and get a "click" when you pull the knob out but no turny turny....... I'd settle for about 1/4 block of c4 and an oil well perforator right about now so i knew it HURT her to the CORE when it blew :wink::laughing: Now to figure this out
The confusing part is the 9000 series was made by two companies. Part of them were made my MTD which is the version that your have, and the others were made by Husqvarna. The MTD fuse is next to the battery under the seat as your found. The Husqvarna version is under the dash clipped to the upright on the right side.
So in "Craft2" pic, i took it and edited it in paint and attached it. That's where the fuse is on the MTD type of the Craftsman PYT9000 series. did NOT look like a fuse holder at first and was way overtaped (even though it didn't protect end where fuse was, lol). It looked at first, a LOT, like that relay i showed under dash panel. Glad i found it, should have known it blew the fuse for a reason (even though i DIDN'T engage blades when it first started yesterday). Pretty sure electric clutch is shorted but about to do all the fun meter testing on it and the PTO knob to verify that theory.:confused2:
Try it again when the clutch is cold.
If it works fine when cold check the clutch air gap.
If it is worn & the gap is too big it draws too much power which can cause the fuse to blow after a while.
I put Craftsman on back burner today because Scag wire harness and electric PTO clutch came today and i dove headfirst into it this afternoon. Getting ready to post progress and queries on that forum. I will check what you said now that it's cool again in the morning before my job and like you said if it works then i'll pursue the gap spacing. Already priced them today though in case i need to swap it like i'm having to on the Scag. That Scag one is HUGE and yet the Craftsman one (both from Xtreme Outdoor power equipment) is only $10 less than the Scag one was.
LMAO, what a NOOB i am........LOL... From sitting on the driver's seat the BELT, LOOKS like it's taught and routed correctly but after trying the PTO knob while cold this morning i thought "hmmm, maybe the belt broke?" and yeah, it DID, lol. I'll put a belt on and see where we're at after that. It was a little "chewed" on edges from where spindle broke last year but was a brand new belt then and looked like it MIGHT hold for a while but that was obviously not the case. That first few seconds of smoking probably sealed it's deal. Anyway, yeah, chalk that one up to operator error and prognosis and i'll post again after rebelting the deck. :confused2:
Not sure of the exact deck but make sure the belt is around the pulley and under the brake pads and keepers.
Very easy & common to miss one and have the belt running over rather than under.
This will destroy a belt in under a minute running.
We have all done it.
I had the belt right, it still has the diagram on the deck and i'd JUST put in all three brand new spindles/pulleys. The belt was "chewed" slightly (just roughed) on edges from where spindle broke last summer and between that and the PTO clutch IS very tight to turn by hand even without belt on, i think it couldn't take the tension/torque. I'm gonna go ahead and replace the PTO clutch in this also like i did the scag. I haven't ohm'd this one to make sure it's bad but the fact it's that tight to turn tells me it's nearly seized anyway. With BOTH hands, i could get a very TIGHT 1/4 turn out of the pulley at a time.
There are two different versions of PTO clutches.
One free wheels when the PTO is off & gets used on decks that have blade brakes fitted
The other locks when the PTO is off to act as a blade brake because there is none on the deck
ok, in that vein of thought then, would the one with internal brake be able to spin at ALL by hand with it off? LIke i said, it would move about a 1/4 turn with BOTH hands, pretty tightly. I don't see any "brake" system for the blades/belt on the deck unless the tensioner/idler pulley takes that load? (doubt it)
If working properly no
In reality most will turn with a little difficulty and you will hear the brake dragging
Makes it a bitch to diagnose a buggered bearing and they are not the sort of item you want to replace by accident.
